“No significant differences in total weight of hair produced in a measured area, or in width or rate of growth of individual hairs, could be ascribed to shaving,” researchers wrote in a study dating back to 1970, according to the site.

LLM does note, however, that stubble can seem thicker and darker than longer hair, but that’s just an illusion. Maybe we’ll go ahead and skip shaving for a while—just to test the science for ourselves, of course.